Skip to main content

The reports and briefings on this page share the research findings, as well as tailored recommendations aimed at educational institutions and policymakers, employers and industry, and trade unions.

Final report: Rethinking Young Women’s Working Lives

Our final report – ‘L-Earning: Rethinking Young Women’s Working Lives’ – published in December 2025, presents important findings and recommendations about the working lives of young women aged 14 to 29. These findings include the fact that Earning while Learning (EwL) is commonplace and gendered, that there is a distinct Student Labour regime, that EwL establishes work expectations and trajectories, that young women’s work trajectories are easily derailed, and that workplace problems and lack of remedy reproduce gendered inequality. The report includes targeted recommendations for government & policymakers, educational institutions & sector bodies, careers/employability & education professionals, employers, and trade unions & the national union of students.

You can download a digital version of the report by clicking the image below:

Report ‘L-earning: Rethinking Young Women’s Working Lives’

Briefings on Student Employment

Our Research Briefings – ‘Earning While Learning: Student Employment’ – published in May 2025, present pressing findings about the nature and prevalence of student employment, and the experiences of student workers aged 14-23 years old. To learn more about the project findings and recommendations, you can watch the recording of our webinar held on the 3rd of June 2025.

There are three tailored briefings for:

  • The Education Sector
  • Employers and Industry
  • Trade Unions

You can find downloadable versions of all three briefings below.

Briefing for educational institutions and policymakers: ‘Earning while learning: Student Employment’
Briefing for employers and industry: ‘Earning while learning: Student Employment’
Briefing for trade unions: ‘Earning while learning: Student Employment’

Report launch December 12th 2025

After three years of the ESRC funded study ‘L-earning: rethinking young women’s working lives’, we held an event on 12th December (4pm-7pm) in London to mark the launch our final report and share findings from across the work packages. The report (available above) presents our major new findings on how women’s earliest experiences of work shape gender inequalities across the working life course.

As well as presentations of key findings from the research team, the event included a panel discussion with some fantastic speakers including Jo Littler (Goldsmiths University), Alice Arkwright (TUC) and Dr Ashley Austin (Young Women’s Trust).